Sunflower State News

There were 10 deaths with influenza and pneumonia listed as the underlying cause reported in Kansas during the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, no changes from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending Oct. 22, 2022, there were 534 deaths in the state. 22.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.8% were from cancer and 7.5% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 9.9% of deaths were from Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Studies show doctors and medical examiners may underreport Alzheimer's disease and dementia-related conditions as the underlying cause of death on death certificates, according to the National Institute on Aging.

Once infected, older adults with dementia are likely to develop a more severe and dangerous illness. The diseases which make an older adult more vulnerable to COVID-19 are age-associated chronic conditions, according to the Bright Focus Foundation.

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Heart disease	119	112
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	95	110
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	34	32
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	23	19
Cerebrovascular diseases	20	23
Alzheimer's disease	18	18
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	17	12
Diabetes mellitus	13	19
Influenza and pneumonia	10	10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	11

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 22, 2022	Deaths in Week Ending Oct. 15, 2022
Alzheimer disease and dementia	53	65